Uh Oh

At the risk of appearing like Banquo’s ghost, and interrupting the party, I would suggest that this news is pretty troubling. 

President Medvedev ordered missiles to be stationed up against Nato’s borders yesterday to counter American plans to build a missile defence shield.

Speaking within hours of Barack Obama’s election, Mr Medvedev announced that Russia would base Iskander missiles in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad – the former German city – next to the border with Poland.

He did not say whether the short-range missiles would carry nuclear warheads.

It seems to have been timed for when the attention of the world was elsewhere, and there’s just a chance it might have been aimed for a domestic audience – especially as he announced plans to extend presidential terms from four years to six at the same time.  However, Joe Biden’s prediction that Obama would be strongly tested by geo-political events looks like coming true.